The Other Side of the World

Came across her breastfeeding

. . . the fetus (from the fetus & pelvis educational model)

or maybe she’s just practicing for a lotus birth?

Allegedly mid-winter break here, and while the rain obliges with making obvious the ‘winter’ part via interminable sheets of dry-laundry-obscuring proportions, the babies are heedless to the ‘break’ portion and continue to fill my hands with warm, squelching newness.

and no, I am not reading some last-minute how-to guide on baby-catching - merely checking over my documentation amidst our homebirth supplies

Latest baby born framed by the sunny noon pouring in the living room picture window after pivoting ever-so-delicately right at the nth hour (literally - we watched her sweet dark haired head turning at the entrance) into a lovely anterior (facing down) position.
With the most gentle and concentrated of efforts - born with absolute slow serenity into my hands - mama lost in the deepness of birthing, papa quietly holding us all up off the floor in his arms - mother, child, midwife (ry student - for just a few more months).

Really, considering the amount of rain outside, and the extra effort New Zealanders make to heat their homes once a new baby is arriving - it’s a very good thing being a midwife, mid-winter.

Serious reading - bonus points if anyone recognizes the book

It’s much better to use the diaper on cat than to have it on yourself. . .

she sits in her favourite corner and plots entropy

and sometimes recruits for cleaning it all up

while I study, enkaftan’d & cozily

in other words -

mostly, the chaos?

it reigns.